Welcome to our blog! My name is Hannah and I’m the lead interior designer and owner of Revival by Design.
Oh and that's Matt, he's my husband and also an integral part to the Revival by Design team - we will talk about Matts role a little later on!
So, the reason for doing this blog and sharing my 'pro interior design tips'; well apart from the obvious benefits, such as the increased traffic to the website, SEO, and just general marketing (which is important, obviously), I really want to share with you, who we are and how we go about our projects.
To give you an idea of how we approach a project, so that if you are thinking of taking on a renovation project or maybe just looking to give a room a face lift, I can offer a little advice, help and guidance on how to avoid some of the costly mistakes we see some clients making, before they ask us for our help. It will also give you a great insight into our day to day life and what we are involved in as interior designers – it’s not all paint colours and cushions! Although I do love that bit!
Photos Revival by Design
I will confess that writing is not a strong point of mine, if it’s not a colour, texture or finish, I struggle, but I’ll give it my best, in the hope that I can offer you some advice and tips that could really help you on your design journey.
So let’s start with the point of interior design – it can transform a space! It can create calm serenity or uplifting energy, it can be minimal or maximal, it can be neutral or colourful; whatever your design style, it needs to suit you and the way you live. Having a nice home, and to different people this means different things, but I would have thought that a home to most people, is where they can feel safe, relaxed and surrounded by things they love. To me home is a place where you can be yourself, spend time with your family, living how you want to live in a comfortable and functional environment.
And this is your starting point!
What do you want to achieve from changing you home or space, how do you want it to feel, does it need to serve a particular purpose, do you have restrictions or constraints to deal with? Addressing these things before you even start planning colours, carpets, wallpapers and lighting is vital to getting the most out of your design and not making mistakes that could cost you money.
Before and After Revival by Design
I always like to ask my clients a few key questions before we even begin to discuss a design for them. It’s so important for me to understand my client’s needs, likes, dislikes and their inspiration.
Firstly we chat about functionality; how do you want to use your space, for example a lounge, is it for entertaining or TV watching, or both? How many people do you want to seat? Do we need to consider children or pets in our design and our fabric selections? What kind of house it is – a period property, a new build, a farm or a city apartment? I also need to consider the adjoining rooms and the age of the property, to make sure the scheme will work with those. I chat with them about what they have seen in department stores, hotels, restaurants that inspire them, or what they really loved about a particular space, and of course I always ask them what they’d like to avoid – colours they don’t like, finishes, are they averse to manmade fibres – there is always something. Our clients are all very different in their tastes and styles, so finding out what they dont like is as important as finding out what they do like.
My suggestion, although you think you might know this about yourself, is do the same, note down....
1 | Function and purpose of the space |
2 | Who is going to be using the space |
3 | Fabrics and Finishes - are you a coasters person, is a cream linen sofa going to work with toddlers and two dogs |
4 | What style do you have in the adjoining rooms, is it going to flow and have a cohesive feel |
5 | What inspires you - what do you love? This can be anything, list them out and see what pattern emerges |
6 | What don't you like? You have to be honest here, think about when something really didn't work, or you thought - gosh that really does look awful! |
Be as in depth as possible, don’t underestimate the value in doing this at the very beginning. You might be really surprised by some of the answers, or it might be just as you expected. This list then needs to be your reference point throughout the design process, because you will see pictures on Pinterest and Instagram that will sway you and most likely cause you to question your choices – stick to your guns – it will work. Oh and as we all know, everyone has an opinion, as soon as you start discussing the design with friends and family, they will all 'have the best ideas' for you; listen politely and thank them for their contribution, but always come back to your initial plan!
Happy planning, and thank you for taking time out, hope it helped!
I’ll go through how to start gathering inspiration for your design, putting together moodboards, and how we followed the process through to completion for our biggest project to date.